Residents of Almaty say they paid a company about 130 million tenge for apartment renovations, but the work was never completed. According to the clients, the builders stopped responding, leaving unfinished work and damaged utilities, infohub.kz reports.
One of the customers, Islam Ordabaev, bought a shell-and-core apartment a year ago. He found the contractor online and paid about 7 million tenge for the renovation. He still cannot move in.
According to him, the workers did not install doors or complete the installation of ceilings, plumbing, and electrical wiring. There were also complaints about the quality of the work performed.
"They laid the laminate. They laid it incorrectly, they just put cardboard underneath. They also installed heating pipes for us, and then those pipes burst," Islam Ordabaev said.
According to the man, the workers and company management disappeared. Another 20 Almaty residents have been unable to reach them for several months. At the same time, the applicants say the firm continues to advertise services on social media under a different name and take orders in other cities of Kazakhstan.
The clients turned to the police and demand an objective investigation.
"They either close the case or reopen it. So we have gathered to demand an objective investigation, to get answers to our questions," said Zhanna Ilyasova.
The Almaty Police Department said a criminal case has been opened. The investigation is being conducted by the Almaly District Police Department, and the applicants are being interviewed.
"The Almaly District Police Department is conducting an investigation into this matter. Absolutely all procedural actions provided for by criminal procedure legislation will be carried out," said Saltanat Azirbek, the official representative of the Almaty Police Department.
According to the TV channel, many customers took out loans for the renovations. Now they continue to pay off the loans even though the work in their apartments is not finished.